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Culture as a Tool: Diplomacy and International Exchange in the 21st Century – March 25th

March 18, 2010
n-326, 2009-10

Over the past decade, the explosive growth in the Internet and social networking technologies has created new opportunities for personal and cultural connections across the globe, even as lowered costs of international travel have enabled more people to experience different cultures.

The Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, part of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, will explore the heightened potential for diplomacy and exchange in this new context, hosting a discussion entitled “Culture as a Tool” on Thursday, March 25, cosponsored by S.N.E.A.C., Student Network Exploring Arts & Culture.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. at the Wagner School, 295 Lafayette Street (at Houston Street), 2nd Floor, New York, N.Y. Doors open at 7:45 a.m. Coffee, tea and pastries will be served. (The event concludes at 9:30.)

Panelists will include: Rachel Cooper, Director of Cultural Programs and Performing Arts, The Asia Society; Rochelle Roca Hachem, Programme Specialist for Culture, UNESCO; Frank Hodsoll, President and CEO of the Resource Center for Cultural Engagement and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Art; and Eduardo Lago, Executive Director, Instituto Cervantes / The Cultural Center of Spain in New York.

This forum will examine the motivations, policies and strategies of states in an era of globalization and digital communication. Special attention will be paid to the public-private partnerships that foster the practice of cultural diplomacy and international cooperation, and the advocacy eorts shaping future action.

These real time and casual interactions among individuals and communities are helping form a new model of public diplomacy, in ways different from the state-sponsored cultural exchanges of the 20th Century. But there is still a robust role for governments and international organizations to play in investing in the arts and humanities to further international goals of security, peace-building, post-conflict reconstruction, education and economic development. What does a cultural path towards “world peace” look like in a 21st Century context? What are the evolving roles of language and faith in cross-cultural mutual understanding? How do cultural institutions whose programs are supported in part by grants from governments promote sustained and meaningful connections between people across borders?